URUMQI, Oct. 23 -- Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region recorded 110.5 billion yuan (about 15.6 billion U.S. dollars) in imports and exports in the January-September period, up 21 percent year on year, local authorities said Wednesday.

The autonomous region's export volume during the period was 82.3 billion yuan, up 11.3 percent, while its import volume soared to 28.1 billion yuan, 62.3 percent, according to the customs authorities of Urumqi, the regional capital.

In the first three quarters, Kazakhstan topped the list of Xinjiang's major trade partners, with trade volume between the two growing by 22.9 percent to 51.4 billion yuan, accounting for 46.5 percent of Xinjiang's total.

Xinjiang's trade with Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan also continued to show positive growth, according to the local customs authorities.